Oaxaca - Monte Alban Ruins

Oaxaca Travel Blog

Today Jerry and I made our way south of the Zocolo to the market to
check out the arts and crafts and have lunch in the covered food
market. All the people in the food market were trying to wave us
towards their tables and we had to run the gauntlet to get to a stall
that wasn't so vocal. We sat down and the lady asked us what we wanted
but we had no idea. She was rambling in Spanish naming off all the
things to eat but we were bewildered and didn't know what everything
was. We kept asking for a menu but she just kept shrugging. Obviously
not a place geared for tourists. The one right behind had menus and
the lady smiled and was very nice. Jerry got the tamales which looked
like no tamale I had ever seen in Cleveland. It came steamed and
wrapped in a large plaintain leaf and was more crumbly than the kinds I
had seen before.

Jerry at Lunch in the Market

I had a mixed beef and chorizo grill with some
sauce...delicious. The ladies kids were playing and coloring there and
it was cute..I took a picture of them. On the way over to another
hotel to catch a bus to Monte Alban archeological site, Jerry bought a
large straw hat to keep the sun off his head. I bought some
grasshoppers covered in chile but they were very very sour. There must
be a lot of lime juice in them. I had a bite but the sourness
discouraged me from eating any more. Otherwise I didn't mind the
crunch. They'd be much better drenched in chocolate..now those I would
eat! We also stopped for some Oaxacan shaved fruit ice that came in
many different flavors.

Market Lunch

Jerry and I didn't know what half of the
fruits were so we just guessed at a few. I liked one of my flavors and
Jerry's pineapple but not the guyabana fruit. I kept looking for a
coffee but there was nothing to be had and the locals kept telling us
to go back to the Zocolo. I didn't want to walk many blocks just for a
coffee and we kept going in the direction of the hotel for the bus. At
the hotel I finally got a cup of coffee but instead of the espresso it
was surely powered instant coffee. It was weak and tepid and it took a
long time for them to bring it. When I asked for the check he told me
it cost 30 pesos!! I was outraged and I told him that was ridiculous.
I tried to pay with a 50 note but he didn't have change so he took the
other bill I had, a 20.

Food Stand

Jerry saw that I was fuming and we had to wait
an hour for the next bus so he wisely ushered me out to take a walk.
The hotel was in an area with nothing but hardware stores. Finally we
began to understand the Mexican system. You don't put a cafe where the
hardware stores are! Nor a clothing store where all the banks are
clustered. Later, in Mexico City, we learned that the ancient Aztecs
clustered all similar stores on one street or block. That system must
continue today. It doesn't make sense to us capitalists but it's the
way they do things. We had fun laughing about it for the rest of the
afternoon and our trip.

Finally we got the bus but my stomach was rumbling a bit and I was
feeling a bit funny.

Market Food Stand

When we got to Monte Alban I needed the
bathroom. Then, when on top of the south platform and my batteries in
my camera went dead I needed to go back and buy some more to take more
pictures and I needed the bathroom yet again. Jerry also reported
similar symptoms...uh oh....Yes, we were sick. We tried to figure out
where it could have been from and then we realized...the shaved fruit
ices!! The bacteria was in the ice. Well, it was to get worse in the
evening and night and it took some dosages of pepto bismal, a pill of
Immodium, and a dose of the anti-diarheal antibiotic I had gotten by
prescription back in the States. It stopped the runs, but not the pain
and I spent the night shifting positions in my bed. Between the pain
in my stomach and Jerry's snoring (sorry Jer!), I only got an hour
before we had to get up at 6 am to catch the bus to Puerto Escondido on
the Pacific coast.